A recent report by VanEck suggests that Solana’s native cryptocurrency, SOL, could potentially outperform Ethereum (ETH) in the future. However, it’s important to note that these predictions are not precise forecasts but rather assumptions about potential scenarios for price movement.
VanEck proposes various scenarios for both Ethereum and Solana over the next ten years, encompassing a wide range of possibilities. The current price of SOL is around $36, having previously dropped below $10 in December 2021. VanEck’s worst-case scenario suggests that the price could fall below $10 in the coming years, while the best-case scenario envisions a rise to over $3,200.
Considering an intermediate figure, VanEck sees the possibility of SOL surpassing $1,500, but acknowledges that it could end up higher or lower than this estimate. It’s worth noting that SOL debuted at under $0.6 in 2020 and reached an all-time high of over $260 in November 2021, resulting in gains of over 40,000%.
While replicating such extraordinary performance seems unlikely, a gain of 1,100% from the high of $260 to $3,200 is not unreasonable in the long term crypto market. Additionally, SOL appears to be well-suited for speculative bubbles, as demonstrated by its price increase of +1,000% within four months during the 2021 bubble and subsequent deflation.
VanEck predicts a significant increase in the use of SOL and suggests that it could become the first blockchain to host an application with over 100 million users. This achievement would have a profound impact on SOL’s adoption and value. Furthermore, Solana could potentially reach a market share close to half of Ethereum’s due to its focus on scalability and speed rather than decentralization.
It’s important to note that VanEck’s analysis does not present Solana and Ethereum as direct competitors, but rather different approaches catering to distinct user bases. Comparisons can only be made based on price changes over time, as these two platforms offer different functionalities.
ETH has already experienced two major bull runs in the past, resulting in significant price increases. If SOL follows a similar pattern, it could also go through another bull run. Using historical highs as a reference, Ethereum’s second bull run resulted in a four-fold increase from previous highs. Therefore, if SOL were to experience a similar increase, its new high could be around $1,000.
VanEck also offers an ETN on SOL among its range of derivative products.